VaultGuru

Hi all:
We are coming to Park City at the very end of September for a week. We want to do several rides, but are unfamiliar with the area. We are on a tandem and the other couple are on their own bikes. I have heard that the Park City and Heber area is spectacular that time of the year. Any suggestions for rides? We are roadies and would be fine with routes that are 30-60 miles. 2-4/5k of climbing is ok. We are used to it. Also, what is the weather like? I'm thinking we need to pack for some pretty chilly conditions, especially at that altitude.
Thanks in advance.
VG

waldowales

Either drive to Peoa and ride to Echo, or start at Echo and ride to Peoa. More parking in Peoa. If you are really wanting to climb, start at Park City and ride Browns Canyon to Peoa. These roads are all on the maps. Light traffic, drivers are used to seeing bikes, food and drink available in Coalville and Wanship. Peoa/Echo round trip is about 52 miles.
You'll probably need jackets and leg warmers in the morning.

PlanetU

We're visiting Park City NOW and have found great ride suggestions on mapmyride.com
:-)

csimons

Also, check out the Cycling Utah event calendar (URL below). There are a three rides listed there near the end of September, a century in SLC on the 18th, a shorter benefit ride on the same day (challenge: do both?), and a century in Heber Valley on the 25th, with 25/50/65/100-mile options.

https://www.cyclingutah.com/event-cal...-century-ride/

VaultGuru

csimons, we might be able to make the Heber Valley century on the 25th, but we get in late on the 24th. Great option though. Planet U, are there specific routes on Map My Ride that you like?
Waldowales, would you ride on 32/Hoytsville Rd/Main St/Echo Dam Rd. to get from Peoa to Echo?

Many thanks for the suggestions.

waldowales

That's the one! Nice scenic ride.

PlanetU

We really liked the Browns Canyon loop. We also rode Big Cottonwood Canyon to Guardsman Pass. Tomorrow we're going to ride the Alpine Loop.
I'm planning on coming up for the Heber Valley Century in September. Looks like FUN! :-) Deb

VaultGuru

We have been in the Park City area area almost a week now and have had a chance to sample some of the rides.
The first day, we did "It's a Grind". It is a big loop with some climbing at the end up Royal st. Really liked it.
Ride #2 was Brown's Canyon Loop (44.2 miles/2720' ascent) Didn't like it as much. Too much traffic on 268, even at 11:30 in the morning. Lots of trucks hauling stone out of the materials plants on Brown's Canyon. Also, a of of cattle trucks on 32. We felt a little intimidated.. We talked to a local roadie on Kamas and she said the ride to Mirror Lake was beautiful.
Ride #3.1 - Mirror Lake Ride (38.3mi/2157' ascent/1.91% avg grade) A warm day - 80/85º. We started at Kamas and headed towards Mirror Lake. It is about 5200' of climbing, but gradual grades for the first 17 miles. Beautiful scenery. The aspens are turning color. Very little traffic and very courteous drivers. We are here in October, so the campgrounds are closed, thus, no water. We were limited in distance by the amount of water we could carry. We turned around at mile post 18 and headed down the hill. Tomorrow, we will start around mile post 17 and complete the ride.
Ride 3.2 - Bald Mountain Summit Ride(23.3mi/2940; ascent/4.55% avg grade). Another unseasonably warm day - 75-80º. We checked in at the ranger station in Kamas to see if there was water available. The ranger told us we could get water at the campground at mile marker 26. We parked at mile marker 17 (Duchesne Tunnel) with intentions of riding to Mirror Lake. It is a steady uphill right from the start with a small drop (125'/.5mi) at Teapot Lake. The fall color was even better than ride 3.1. Lots of opportunities to take pictures. We stopped at the campground at mile marker 26 and found that it had been turned off. Once again, no water other that two bottles each. By the time we reached Bald Mountain Summit (10,759'), we were getting low on water and decided to turn around. The descent was fantastic. We were hitting 55+ on the steeper sections with ease. The road was wide and very smooth with no cars. It is open range, however, and there were cows by the roadside. We were careful to slow down when we saw them.
All in all a great ride. Highly recommended